Tricycle



(No Model.) 2 sheetssheet 1. G. JOHNSON.

` l TRICYCLE. No. 408,624.

Patent-ed Aug.v6, 1889.

PEYERS. PM10-ummm", wnhingm". D.c.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

GyJoHNsoN. TRICYCLE.

No. 408,624. I 'Patented Aug. 6, v1889.

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UNITEDV STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GOTTFRIED JOHNSON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

TRICYCLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 408,624, d ated August6, 1889.

Application filed June 17, 1889.

' To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GOTTFEIED JOHNSON, a subject of the King of Sweden,residing at Chicago, in the countyvof Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Tricycles, of which thefollowing is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in tricycles; and it consists incertain peculiarities of the construction and arrangement of the same,as will be hereinafter more fully set forth and specifically claimed.

In order to enable others skilled in the art to which my inventionpertains to make and use the same, I will now proceed to describe it,referring to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a View ofmy machine in elevation. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal lsectional view takenon line x of Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view of thesteering-shaft. Fig. 4 is an end view of the drum, and Fig. 5 is a sideview of the two drums and the endless chain in position.

Similar letters refer to like parts throughout the different views ofthe drawings.

A represents the main frame, upon which is mounted in the usual way orin any suitable manner one or more saddles or seats a d', which seatsare secured to the frame A by means of braces a2, or otherwise, as .maybe desired. The upper braces are loosely secured at one en d to abracket l), and are loosely provided at theother end with a collar b',surrounding the seatsupporting standard b2, which standard passesthrough said collar and is secured therein by means of a setescrew.Between the collars and the lower braces and around the lower portion ofthe standard h2, I place a spiral spring h3, which prevents j oltingwhen the machine passes over rough places.

In front of the seat d, at a suitable point, is loosely secured in theframe A at its lower end a steering-shaft c, having at its upper end theusual crank-handle c and brake-grip/ d5. y The shaft c is furthersupportedaid held in a vertical position by the bracket b, through whichit passes. Qeenfthe upper part of the bracket Z9 anc he frame A on theshaft c, I provide tw ms c2, which extend horizontally from the shaft cand on each side thereof. 'To the end of each arm is secured a cord orchain c3, which passes over suitable pulleys c4 and under similarpulleys c5, and connects 'at their other ends with like arms c2 on themain steering-shaft. The pulleys c4 and c5 are suitably secured to theframe A at the proper points.

In front of the seat a', and secured to the front end of the frame A, isthe main steeringshaft A', having at its upper end the usual handle c',and formed at its lower end with a fork n, carrying the steering-wheelB, journaled therein, as shown in Fig. l of the drawings.

The rear end of the frame A is loosely secured in the forked piece E ata suitable distance from the upper end thereof, as at E2, as will bemore clearly seen by reference to Figs. l and 2 of the drawings. Thepiece E is preferably formed, as shown in Fig. 1, with its forked endsprojecting downward and having journaled therein the axle or shaft d',upon which is mounted the wheel C, drum c, treadlearms ff', and pendantf2. At a short distance in front of the bearing of the rear end of theframe A, as seen at E2, and near the curve or bend in the piece E, Ijournal the axle or shaft d2, upon which shaft is mounted a drum e',similar in construction to the drum e, but preferably larger incircumference. The ratchet-wheel c3 and pawl-bearing arms or levers g gare also journaled on the shaft d2, as is apparent At the rear end ofthe piece E, I loosely and vertically journal the forked shank d nearits upper end, which shank has at the lower ends of its fork suitable"ivhich grip`i'sconnected to and operates the brake vm through the rodsm and lever m2, the lever being f ulcrumed to the enlarged part fn ofthe shaft A', as at m3, and the brake m pivoted to the shank of the forkn, as at n', as is seen in Fig. l of the drawings. To the ICO front endof the frame A is rigidly secured a sleeve n2, which fits around theenlarged part of shaftA',whieh enlarged partis hollow and is providedtherein with a plate ns, having a square hole n4 through said plate,into which hole the rectangular upper part of shank o of the fork nfits, and is allowed to move upward when the wheel B passes over a stoneor other object. In the upper end of the shank 0' is secured a pin 17.7,which projects slightly on each side of the shank and prevents it beingdrawn out. rIhe enlarged part n may be made integral with the shaft A',or it may be a separate piece, as shown in Fig. 3. lVithin the hollowpiece n, I provide a suitable spiral spring 0, which encircles the shank0 and rests between the projecting plate as and shoulders o2, formed onthe shank o', as seen. The arms c2 are rigidly secured to the bottom ofthe piece n.6 and are provided near their outer ends with suitable meansfor connecting the cords or chains c3 when desired.

The shank o' is of rectangular form and fits into a similarly-formedopening in the piece n, as at n4, which construction permits the shankto move upward when passing over stones, &c., and yet can be turned tothe right or left when desired.

In Fig. 4 I have shown an end view of one of the drums provided atsuitable points on its periphery with tapering or funnel-shaped holes p,into which the projections on the endless chain engage, as shown in Fig.5.

The endless chain F is formed of short pieces r and r', connectedtogether by pins fr?. The pieces r are formed with each end bifurcatedand provided with holes, into which the pins r2 are inserted throughholes in each end of the pieces r', which are provided on one side,about the center of the piece, with a tapering or wedge-shaped lug orprojection W3, which projection engages with the holes p in the drums ee', as is clearly seen and will be readily understood.

It is apparent that by using the wedgeshaped lugs on the chain, inconnection with the tapering holes in the drums, the pins never fail toengage said holes, and that the greater the strain the more secure isthe engagement; yet after having passed over the drum they are releasedwithout hinderance. While I prefer to use the chain formed as abovedescribed with the drums, yet it is evident that I may substitutetherefor the ordinary sprocket-wheel and chain.

On the shaft CZ', and between the forks of the bearing E, I rigidlysecure to the said shaft the wheel C, having rigid therewith and on oneside of the wheel the drum e, having the tapering holes p, as beforedescribed. Passing over this pulley or drum and engaging with the drume', which is mounted on the shaft d2, is the endless chain F.

On each side of wheel C and outside of the forks of the piece E, Iloosely journal the treadle-arms f f having pivoted at each end thereoffoot-rests s s, which are kept level by means of the connecting-rods s's', connected at one end to the pendant f2', which is secured firmly tothe piece E. On the linner side of the treadle-arms I provide twospringst', one end of which is secured to the pendant f2 and the otherend to the arms ff', as seen by the dotted lines in Fig. l.

To the arms f f', at a suitable place, are loosely secured thelever-operating rods 1I i', which are adj ustably secured to thepawlcarrying levers g g'. The said levers are journaled, as shown, onthe shaft d2, and have the spring-actuated pawls h 7L', which engagewith the ratchet-wheel c3, mounted 011 the shaft (Z2.

The springs tt' are removably connected to the pendant f2 and arms f f',so that when one person only rides the machine one of the springs may beremoved and the other one will compensate for the absence of the otherrider.

The operation of my machine is evident. The wheel D may be turned atright angles with the wheel C, when the vehicle will stand erect. Thefoot of the rider may then be placed in the step (Z4 and the mounteasily made. After the rider or riders are mounted and have placed theirfeet on the pedals s s', by throwing their weight on first one foot andthen on the other, the wheels are set in motion. The levers g g', bein graised and lowered and engaging with the ratchet-wheels by means oftheir paWls, will rotate the chainbearing drums and keep the wheels inmotion. To steer the machine it is only necessary to turn either of theshafts c or A' to the right or left, as is clear.

Near the front end of the main frame A, I secure thereto a forked pieceQ, having on the inside of each prong of the fork a small roller u. Thefork thus provided with rollers straddles the rim of the wheel C andprevents any lateral strain thereon.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, isi l. In a tricycle, thecombination of three wheels placed one before the other, a main frameconnecting said wheels, the steeringshafts, the drums having aconnecting-chain provided with lugs, ratchet-Wheels, the pawlbearinglevers, and the connecting-rods, all arranged and operatingsubstantially as and for the purpose set fort-h.

2. In a tricycle, the combination of the main frame A, forked piece E,the drums e e', chain F, ratchet e3, pawls 7L 7L, levers gg',conmeeting-rods t' fi', treadle-arms f f having pedals s s,steering-shaft A', and wheels B C D, substantially as shown anddescribed, and for the purpose set forth.

3. In a tricycle, the steering-shaft A', having the handle c', brake m,lever m2, rod m',

' grip d5, and a fork n at its lower end, in combination with the wheelB, and the frame A,

havin g connected thereto the wheels C D, substantially as and for thepurpose set forth.

4. In a tricycle, the steering-shaft A', hav- IOO IIO

ing the handle c', brake m, lever m2, rod m', grip (Z5, the hollow piecen, provided with plate ns, having a square hole n4, the shank o', havingshoulders 02, fork n, and the spring o, encircling the shank o andresting between the plate nB and shoulders o2 Within the hollow piecem6, in combination With the Wheelbearing frame A, having sleeve n2, andthe Wheel B, all constructed, arranged, and-operating substantially asshown and described, and for the purpose set forth.

5. In a tricycle, the steering-shaft A having handle c', brake m, leverm2, rod m', grip di", the hollow piece n, having hole n4 in` plate nsand arms c2, the compensating spring o, encircling the shank o', havingshoulders 02, and fork n., carrying Wheel B, in combination with theframe A, havingl the sleeve n2, Wheels C D, pulleys c4 c5, chains c3,connected at one end to the arms c2 and at the other end to arms c2 onstandard c, the standard c, having handle c', brake, grip, andconnecting-rods, substantially as shown and described, and for thepurpose set forth.

6. In a trcycle, the combination of the seat a', standard h2, collar b',spring b3, brace-bearings az a2, the frame A, having bracket-arms b, andWheels B C D, substantially as shown and described, and for the purposeset forth.

In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand .and affixed my seal this12th day of June, 1889.

GOTTFRIED JOHNSON. [L. s]

FRANK T. ROBINSON, J. A. PIATT.

